We checked in on how our shopping dieters are doing… and discovered that some have caved!

It’s been about a month since our brave shopaholics made a silent promise to themselves to stay away from clothes for the next three months.

Here they are, checking in with their updates.

Alexandra

In general I’ve been pretty good about temptations. Mostly because I haven’t really had the urge to get anything new since I’ve been having fun playing with my accessories and giving my old outfits new looks. I’ve even cut up a few things here and there to change old clothing up a bit. I also saw a little video on how to turn large t-shirts(you know the kind you get at events etc.) into cute little tops. Doesn’t take up too much time and you don’t need to have a lot of talent to pull it off…I’ll be trying that soon. I did have one slip up tough and it happened so fast that I didn’t even realise it.

I was in Singapore two weekends ago with my family and we decided to kill some time before dinner by walking around Orchard Road. There was a huge sale at Cotton On and my sister was buying a few new items. The store was packed, our dinner reservations were at 8 and it was already 7:45 and so my dad decided to stand in line to pay while my sister made some last minute decisions on a skirt.

She finally picked one she liked and was about to bring it up to the counter when my mom noticed that there was a promotion where you buy two for pretty much the price of one. My sister only wanted one  skirt and so my mom said I should pick one up too. She found one in my size and at this moment my dad was already at the pay terminal while other customers in the line were giving him the evil eye for taking so long. So she ran it over to my dad and he purchased it.

This all happened in the span of a few seconds and before I knew it I had just slipped up! In that moment I hadn’t even given the shopping fast a thought.

Ellie

It should be simple, shouldn’t it, to give up shopping for three months straight? After all, we were trained to shop every other day of our lives – we have enough blouses in our closets to weave a bridge from KL to Paris, where we’d, of course, buy more.

However, when I came on board for a revelation, I did not know that the revelation would be this – I am pregnant. This causes much more complications than one would expect: I’m getting fat and no, my beloved skinny jeans won’t save my growing thighs this time.

Hence, one would understand why I had to succumb to temptation on Day One of my shopping fast. I hadn’t anticipated in stepping into Zara after a quick lunch around the corner of the mall, but I did… and there she was; coral pink and gracefully flared, this beauty of a skirt that was depreciatively tagged RM139.90. The skirt was line from head to toe, the upper yoke was smocked to mold into shape. And as I stood there by the rack, touching the softness of the flammable cotton, I knew it was an obligatory buy; I needed her as much as she needed me.

Nobody ever believes a shopaholic. And why would they? – Day One into the shopping fast and I had given in. But in all seriousness, while I’m lucky enough to have a sufficient amount of loose tops to get me by the first few months of my belly growth, I am forced to say goodbye to all the skin-tight jeans and bodycon dresses for a long, long time. I bought the skirt because it would grow with me through this new stage in my fashion-dependable life. Here are the reasons why:

Firstly, it can be worn in casual form. Decked with flats and t-shirts aplenty, this look was going to come in great favor of my growing body.

Secondly, it can be worn in chic and stylish form. With the gathered help of a thick, tight belt – not to mention a deadly pair of chunky heels – the skirt exudes Bohemian poise.

Lastly, it can be worn in comfy form. The skirt, as it is, can be pulled to the bust area to fit snugly as a maxi tube dress. A play of accessories and flats make it an essential outfit for that stylish baby bump.

The skirt can be worn casually

With all that said, I’m sure you can agree that this purchase was of utmost importance. Sure, I failed on the first day of my shopping fast, but you know what they say about diets – there’s always tomorrow.

Nadine

So far so good and there are a few reasons for that actually…

1. I have kind of just returned(on the 11^th) from a family holiday to Sydney, Australia and well, with knowledge of the shopping fast, I have purchased enough new clothing to last me a while….also, due to that, I am BROKE! So yeah….hehehe, cant shop when I don’t have the dosh.

2. Being a writer for a monthly publication and having been out of the country for about 11 days out of the month is actually a huge time off and so, I have also been maniacally busy trying to complete all my assignments in time for print.

3. I moved homes. I was living with my older brother and his girlfriend and decided to move back to my parents place. It was the right thing to do and we are all happier adults because of it 😀 Love you both!! That said, moving also required another large deposit in the form of my time after work.

Of course, with all those stresses, comes in my lunchtime workout which is always a spot of retail therapy. I did manage to check out Singaporean store bYSI which recently opened its first store here in Kuala Lumpur in Mid Valley Megamall. Having seen the banners, posters as well as having passed the store a few times every week, I was intrigued by what I saw. Working in the media line, especially one that involves high society as well as successful individuals, I like to make sure I look just as successful AND stylish if not more so. With that in mind, I thought I would check the store out (of course fully aware of the Fast) and went through some of the apparel there. The store has some really nice dresses there where one could work the day-to-night look easily. Chic and modern, feminine and edgy….it has great choice…..I wasn’t too interested in their accessories though (not a great selection)

Anyhoo (Oops, off topic!), I tried on a couple of dresses (big mistake when wanting to not shop) and of course, I find something I like….and so, with great effort and will power, I take it off, and pass it back to the sales assistant waiting patiently for me.

Lesson no.1 : No trying on clothes….

Despite my not wanting to give up shopping for many reasons (main one is essentially because my dream is to break into the Fashion Industry…at some point….and so a girl has ALWAYS gotta look current and at her best) I guess with a challenge like this one, I could look at it like giving up smoking and I am currently at the infant stages where I am giving up the physical addiction of going to the store and trying clothes on. Seems like the logical thing to do….for now….

The three have been joined by another dieter, meet Veronica.

Veronica Akiew

I am a business owner who runs an event, training & PR firm. I am a shopaholic- more like i have shopping OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder)! i often mindlessly pick up things: clothes, accessories, make ups, beauty product, shoes that i don’t need. I also almost always buy things that i already have. (like the almost exact same shoe,just with a different shade of brown)

Being in the business, I get to travel frequently hence it is always an excuse to shop till I drop especially when I am overseas. When I’m back home, I always find other excuses to shop (i.e: ‘it’s been a stressful day, i deserve to buy myself a nice dress’ OR ‘i’ve had an argument with my boyfriend, let’s indulge in some major shopping spree’).

I have so many clothes at home that i have to fit them in my bedroom’s huge wardrobe and the guestroom’s smaller wardrobe. When i signed up for the shopping fast, i went home and realized that i have at least 15 dresses in my wardrobe which has never been worn and more than a dozen which has only been worn once! And more often then not, i wonder ‘when the hell did i buy this’?

Veronica

i signed up for the shopping fast because i hate to be so out-of-control. i need to have some sort of discipline in my ‘shopping-life’ and i want to be more in-control of my finances. Above all, i should learn how to buy things i need and not things i want & with all the money i can save from this fast, i want to do something useful with it like donate it to a charity.

Being in business, I get to travel frequently hence it is always an excuse to shop till I drop especially when I am overseas. When I’m back home, I always find other excuses to shop (i.e: It’s been a stressful day, I deserve to buy myself a nice dress’ or ‘I’ve had an argument with my boyfriend, indulge in a major shopping spree’). Two days after the fast began, I ‘mindlessly’ bought a cheap tee from FOS, and only remembered the fast when I got home. And then, a few weeks later, I spotted a gold dress in Nana g at Bangsar Shopping Complex and I ‘mindlessly’ purchased it, realising 10 minutes later that I had broken the fast, again.